Kitchen plastering and decorating · England
Kitchen plastering and decorating in Essex
We carry out kitchen plastering and decorating across Essex, from Southend-on-Sea to the smaller towns, with a free survey visit and an itemised written quote as standard.
Is kitchen plastering and decorating right for your Essex kitchen?
After a knock-through in an Essex home, the new opening, beam and surrounding walls need plastering before the new kitchen goes in, then decorating once the plaster has dried.
Landlords in Essex often have a kitchen redecorated between tenancies, filling fixing holes and repainting walls and woodwork in a scrubbable finish that stands up to regular cleaning.
What does kitchen plastering and decorating in Essex include?
Your written quote lists everything included. For kitchen plastering and decorating, that normally means:
- Free survey visit to check walls and ceilings and give an itemised quote
- Loose or blown plaster hacked off back to the wall where needed
- Walls re-boarded or skimmed so units and tiles fix to a flat surface
- Chases around new sockets, cable runs and pipework filled and made good
- Ceilings skimmed or overboarded, after textured coatings in older homes are tested for asbestos
- Diluted mist coat on new plaster, then moisture-resistant, wipeable kitchen paint
- Ceilings, walls, skirting, architraves and door frames decorated to finish the room
- Edges around units, worktops and splashbacks cut in neatly at the end
How much does kitchen plastering and decorating cost in Essex?
As a starting point for Essex, these ranges include VAT at 20% and allow for typical labour costs in the East of England. Prices in the East of England usually run above the national guide, mainly because labour and parking cost more.
| Typical project | Guide price |
|---|---|
| Skim kitchen walls and ceiling over sound plasterPrepared and skimmed | £380–£860 |
| Hack off, re-board and skim a kitchenOld plaster removed back to the wall | £970–£1,900 |
| Kitchen decoratedWalls, ceiling and woodwork | £430–£1,300 |
Guide prices are for a typical kitchen, with labour and standard materials for plastering or decorating; asbestos testing, structural repairs, damp treatment and lime plaster are not included and are quoted separately if needed. Prices include VAT at 20%.
Kitchens in homes across Essex
The housing mix across Essex includes Victorian terraces, 1930s semis, post-war new town houses and chalet bungalows, so no two kitchen fits are quite alike. In Harlow and Basildon, new-town houses often have a compact galley, while chalet bungalows and 1930s semis tend to have a small kitchen next to the dining area.
Limescale is a fact of life in most of Essex because the water is hard, so a filter for a boiling water tap and regular descaling make sense. Busy commuter towns often have tight on-street parking, and estate houses with small front gardens can make it awkward to unload long worktops.
New-town houses from the 1950s and 1960s often have small, enclosed kitchens, so owners sometimes take out a partition wall. Many chalet bungalows need a full refit, including new electrics and a better layout that makes use of awkward corners.
Rules for kitchen plastering and decorating in Essex
Skimming, re-boarding and decorating a kitchen in England need no planning permission or building regulations approval in most cases. In a listed building, listed building consent may be needed before original plaster is removed, and older solid walls may be better suited to breathable lime plaster than gypsum. Hacking an outside wall back to brick and re-boarding it may count as renovating a thermal element under Part L, so check with building control first.
Most kitchen fits need no planning permission, but weatherboarded listed cottages and homes in village conservation areas may need consent for a new external vent.
Before you start
- Choose a paint sold for kitchens or bathrooms, with a wipeable or scrubbable finish; standard matt emulsions can mark easily near the hob and bin.
- Fresh plaster usually needs three to six weeks to dry fully, so plan for a mist coat first and the final colour once it has dried.
- If your home was built before 2000, have textured ceiling coatings tested for asbestos before anyone sands, scrapes or drills into them.
- Plaster before the units go in: skimming around fitted cabinets is slower, messier and leaves edges that are hard to finish neatly.
- Before final decorating in your Essex kitchen, check that the new worktops and floor are covered, as paint splashes are much easier to prevent than to remove.
- Pick the final paint colour for your Essex kitchen while the plaster dries, testing samples on the dried mist coat rather than on bare plaster.
Questions about kitchen plastering and decorating in Essex
How much does kitchen plastering and decorating cost in Essex?
Guide prices in Essex are about £380 to £860 including VAT for skimming the walls and ceiling over sound plaster. The final price depends on the size of the kitchen and what is moving, and is set out in an itemised written quote.
Do you cover the whole of Essex?
Yes. We carry out kitchen plastering and decorating across Essex, including Southend-on-Sea, Basildon, Colchester and Chelmsford. Every job starts with a free survey visit and an itemised written quote.
How long should new plaster dry before painting?
Fresh plaster usually needs three to six weeks to dry fully before full decorating, depending on its thickness, the time of year and how well the room is ventilated. It turns from dark to an even, pale colour as it dries. A diluted mist coat can usually go on sooner to seal the surface, with the final coats applied once drying has finished.
Can a textured kitchen ceiling be skimmed over?
Often, yes, but have it tested first if the house was built before 2000. Some older textured ceiling coatings contain asbestos, so a sample should be tested before anyone sands, scrapes or drills them. If the result is clear, the ceiling can usually be skimmed or overboarded. If asbestos is found, follow the report's advice and use a specialist asbestos contractor.
Should a kitchen be plastered before or after the units are fitted?
Before. Plastering is done after strip-out and first-fix electrics and plumbing, so new cables and pipes are chased in and covered, and before the base and wall units go in. Units then fix to a flat, finished surface, and the decorator only needs to cut in around them at the end. Patch repairs after fitting are possible but harder to hide.
Kitchen plastering and decorating in towns across Essex
Choose a town for local guide prices and postcode coverage:
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Southend-on-Sea
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Basildon
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Colchester
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Chelmsford
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Harlow
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Grays
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Braintree
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Brentwood
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Clacton-on-Sea
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in South Benfleet
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Canvey Island
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Billericay
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Rayleigh
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Stanford-le-Hope
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Wickford
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Witham
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Pitsea
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Maldon
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Waltham Abbey
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in South Ockendon
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Harwich
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Hadleigh
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Saffron Walden
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Burnham-on-Crouch